The Legend of Zelda: The Temple of Darkness
by breier
Summary: Link embarques on his latest quest to find the princess Zelda. Will he find her? And what obstacles will he have to overcome to reach his goal. R&R --Rated PG for violence--


The Legend of Zelda: The Temple of Darkness  
  
By: Breier  
  
When we last left our hero, Link, he had just defeated Ganondorf and his evil incantation, Ganon. Weary and badly injured, Link ventures to the nearby village of Drait, where he rests and is treated for his wounds. Link awakens to hear screams and pleads for help. He looks out the window of the inn to see a purple shade fill the sky and shoot lightning down upon the villagers. This was no ordinary thunderstorm. This storm was evil, and Link could smell the evil in the air. Just then, a bolt struck the window frame in front of Link, and sent him flying across the room. Link was knocked unconscious.  
  
When Link awoke, the evil blanket of electricity was gone. But it had left the villagers dead in its wake. A man, haven been struck in a non-lethal fashion, gasped for air as Link rushed over to him. Link asked what happened, the man mentioned a beast by the name of Shadow Lancer between his gasps. The man's gasping quickened. Link, trying to comfort the man, soon saw his attempts fail, for the man had died in Link's arms. Determined to avenge the people of Drait, Link set out to find this Shadow Lancer, and destroy it.  
  
Link's travels brought him to the foot of the Alcha Mountains. A desolate range of mountains that are believed to be uninhabited. The sun was pounding on Link's neck as he climbed the mountains. Link could feel his sweat pour off his face and into his eyes, it stung, but he kept climbing. By the time Link had reached the top of the mountain, he was exhausted. Night was coming fast, so Link fashioned a campfire and a small bed of grass to sleep on. He would need his rest for the journey ahead.  
  
Early the next day, the sun was shining on Link's face, he awoke and climbed to his feet. He walked until he saw, off in the distance, a temple covered in a dark veil. He also saw a guard pacing the castle entrance. He quickly darted behind a nearby rock. He looked over the rock to see if there was any other way to enter the temple. There wasn't, but there were two stationed archers on the roof of the temple. Thinking quickly, Link pulled out his longbow and two arrows from his quiver. He set the two arrows on his bow, and pulled back. After he fired the arrows, the stationed archers fell off of the roof and in front of the guard. The guard, shocked and infuriated, charged, sword drawn, at Link. With a barrage of sword attacks, Link killed the guard and made his way inside the temple.  
  
Link enters the temple and looks to either side of him. He doesn't see any guards or monsters. There is a door on his left, so he goes through it. Through the door, Link comes face to face with a Dark Wolf. Quickly, Link pulls a light arrow out of his quiver and strings his bow. He fires the arrow at the Dark Wolf...it dodges. Link reaches for another arrow, but the Dark Wolf was too fast, and struck a blow across Link's chest. Dazed, Link falls back. As he climbs to his feet, he unsheathes his sword and delivers a shocking blow to the Dark Wolf's neck. The Beast goes down hard, and disappears into the floor. Off in the distance, a chest appears. Link walks over to the other side of the room and opens it. He finds a key. Just then, a door appears next to the chest. This door has a lock on it. Link assumes that the key he got from the chest must open the door that just appeared, so he puts the key in the lock and turns it. He walks through the door.  
  
This time, Link is confronted by two Dark Guards. Link had seen these type of guards before, outside the temple. Link knew that he would be able to defeat these guards easily like before. So he charged at the guards. But, before his blade made contact with the first guard, he felt frozen. His muscles weren't working. An evil laugh echoed through the room. Just then, the two guards formed together and created a Dark Bodyguard. This monster was three times the size of Link, but Link was determined to defeat the dark force that destroyed the small town of Drait. Link pulled out five of his light arrows and strung them. As he fired, one went into the beast's head, one into it's neck, two into its chest, and 1 into its stomach. With a loud groan, the monster fell back and split into the two guards on contact. Link drew his sword and destroyed the two guards. Where the guards had fallen, a chest appeared. This chest was different than the other one. This one seemed as though something important were in it. Link opened the chest and found a large golden key. Link remembered this key from his previous journeys. This was the key to a door that opened into a beast of tremendous evil. Link knew that this key would open the door to the creature that killed the village of Drait. He was ready for whatever card the temple had to deal him. Just then, a large, steel-plated door appeared at the other end of the room.  
  
Link pulled out the key he had received from the large chest. He placed it in the lock on the door. He turned the key, but nothing happened. The door began to shrink into the key. When the lock became to small for the key, the key dropped to the floor. Link picked up the key and stared at it strangely. Link wondered why the key didn't work. Unbeknownst to Link, a dark matter was eating away at the floor. It was corroding the floor from the center, and expanding to the edges. The hole reached Link, and he fell, along with the key, to the dark room below. It was dark, but Link could still make out the shape of four torches in the room around him. He took four fire arrows out of his quiver and shot one at each of the torches. When the fourth arrow hit the fourth torch, the ground began to shake. The walls around him began to light up. The room began to become cold, Link could feel the evil. He knew this feeling, he had felt it back in Drait. Link looked around but saw no sign of any monster. Just then, a sharp pain on the back had sent Link flying across the room. When Link turned around he saw it. The Shadow Lancer. The beast was surrounded by a field of electricity. Link knew by now that this was the murderer of those villagers. Link lunged at the beast with his sword, and as it touched the armor of the Shadow Lancer, Link was shot back to the wall with an electric jolt. Link realized that he could not use his swords on this creature for they conducted the electricity surrounding it. Link, thinking and acting quickly. Removed a light arrow from his quiver. He aimed carefully, and released the arrow. The arrow flew across the room and hit the Shadow Lancer in the center of the chest. The light arrow's power was too much for the Shadow Lancer's energy field. The electricity was gone, and link could fight the beast one on one. Link drew his sword and walked towards the Shadow Lancer. The beast reached onto his back and pulled out what seemed to be a very large curved sword. Link walked even faster, and gradually increased his pace until he was sprinting at the beast. He swung his sword over his head and slashed down with tremendous force. The Shadow Lancer fell over in two pieces and disappeared into the floor. Link's sword technique was too fast for the Shadow Lancer.   
  
Link, having defeated the Shadow Lancer, was teleported outside the temple back to the village of Drait. The sky was clear and cries of rejoice were heard through the air. Apparently, the villagers weren't dead, only under a curse that was cast by the Shadow Lancer. The villagers all gave praise to Link and offered him gifts. Among the gifts were bundles of arrow, 3000 rupees, and a quiver that could hold more arrows. Thanking all of the villagers, Link retired back to the inn to rest after his long journey. During the night, Link dreamed he was running up a castle tower. When he got to the door at the top of the tower, he awoke. What was at the top of the tower? Why was he having this dream? What does it mean? All of these questions were swarming inside Link's head as he sat on the bed in the Drait inn.   
  
Later that day, Link went outside to seek advice on the meaning of his dream. He decided to go to the man who had given him the information on the Shadow Lancer. He thought this man must have information on the goings on in Drait. Link told the man about his dream. The man thought for a second. After a few minutes, the man told Link that he is seeking to find something, and every time he feels close to achieving the goal, something happens to tear him and his goal further apart, only to send Link chasing after it again. Link knew what the man meant. The man was talking about Zelda. The princess, yes, how could Link have forgotten, he was too busy avenging the villagers, that he had forgotten the most important aspect of his journey. He must find and rescue princess Zelda.  
  
Link thanked the village of Drait, and set off to find the princess Zelda once and for all. His travels had brought him to the desert castle of Galakai, where sand worms surrounded the base. Link remembered these creatures. They had been the creatures of unimaginable evil in the spirit temple in his previous adventures. He knew how to defeat these creatures. Link quickly pulled out his longbow and shot at the worms' heads. The worms seemed dazed, yet uninjured. The worms started to slither towards Link. Link looked above the worms and saw an ivy-laced ceiling. The ceiling looked unsteady and ready to collapse. Thinking quickly, link pulled out a bomb, lit it, and threw it at the base of the wall. A few seconds later, the wall exploded, sending the ceiling crashing down, crushing, and killing one of the sand worms. Link was all out of bombs, and there was still one more worm left. Link, tired, drank a health potion. He felt rejuvenated. He pulled out his boomerang, and threw it at the sand worm. The boomerang sliced through the beast's body, curved around, and took off its head. The boomerang came back to Link's hand with a smack. The sand worm fell apart and vanished into the sand. Link entered the temple.  
  
When Link entered the temple, he couldn't move. His feet were caught in quicksand. He was sinking fast. He quickly pulled out his longshot, aimed it at the nearby ledge, and pulled himself out. He brushed himself off and continued through the door. The door led up a winding staircase. Link recognized this staircase, this had been the staircase in his dream. Running up the spiral staircase with anticipation, Link found himself at the door. Cautiously, he opened the door. Nothing except for a black amulet lay on a pedestal in the middle of the room. Link took the amulet, and put it around his neck. All of a sudden, the walls began to close in. Thinking quickly, Link pulled his Longshot out again, and shot to the entrance door's frame. The longshot didn't hook. The walls were becoming tighter. Link tried once again. The longshot failed once again. Link was worried that he may die in this desert castle. Suddenly, the walls stopped moving. Link heard a hissing sound off in the distance. The room was filling with sand, and fast. Link, once again, tried the longshot approach. Once again, it failed. Wading his way out, Link was losing ground. The room was quickly filling, and he had no foothold to push himself out. Then, the amulet around Link's neck began to glow with a black aura surrounding it. The room seemed to empty and expand back to its original state. A little confused, Link exited the room, and the castle. As he walked, Link wondered what the amulet had to do with the room clearing. He ignored this thought, and continued on his quest to find the princess Zelda. 


End file.
